A competitive two-player patience card game!

Spite & Malice is a competitive patience game for two. Each player begins with a hand of five cards, a pay-off pile of twenty cards, and four empty side stacks.

In the middle of the table are three empty center stacks and the stock pile containing the remaining cards.

The goal is to be the first player to empty your pay-off pile.

The center stacks are built upward from the ace, regardless of suit. For example, the first card could be the ace of diamonds,

followed by the two of spades, the three of hearts, and so on. Kings are wild. This means you can play a king

on any center stack, and it will transform into a card that fits the sequence on that stack. For instance,

if you play the king of spades on a ten of clubs, the king becomes a queen.

When a center stack is completed (by playing a queen or king on a jack), it is shuffled back into the stock pile.

You can place any card on the side stacks, regardless of which cards are already there. However, only the top card of each side

stack is accessible for play, as explained below.

At the start of your turn, draw cards from the stock to replenish your hand to five cards.

On your turn, you can make one of several possible moves:

- Play the top card from your pay-off pile onto a center stack.

- Play the top card from one of your side stacks onto a center stack.

- Play a card from your hand onto a center stack.

- Play a card from your hand onto one of your side stacks. This action ends your turn.

The game ends when a player plays their last card from the pay-off pile onto a center stack.

That player wins the game and scores points equal to the number of cards remaining in the opponent’s pay-off pile.

The game also ends if the stock pile runs out. In this case, the game is a tie, and neither player scores points.

The first player to reach 50 points wins the match!